contextual: Art Deco

The 1939 New York Fair poster.

A typical 1930s Art Deco style poster very streamlined. Speed, and fast design.
Space age,with futuristic looking imagery.

Below a postage stamp with the poster design implemented.

Chicago 1833-1933 A Century of Progress Art Deco style Poster

ART DECO

The Art Deco Era 1920's -1930's. Coming to prominence in the 1930's. The Art Deco was born out of France from an exhibition in Paris inthe 1920's.This came to prominence around the World in the 1930's.The style influenced interior design,architecture,visual Arts,jewellery,fashion,paintings and graphic Arts as well as Film.This style was representing glamour elegance and modern imagery.
The designs were prominent in glassware amongst many other things. Art Deco was very influenced by Tudor era design.
For example Tudor |Houses.
Art Nouveu fed into Art Deco.Egyptian Tomb designs were also an influence on Art Deco designs.

The USA was very influenced by past and future designs. Fast Cars ,Trains and streamlining .Streamline Moderne.Aerodynamics and speed of object imagery and design featuring heavily in the designs.Space age images Rockets and Buildings again influenced by this.

New York World's Fair Postcard

Chrysler Building . Art Deco influenced design.Buildings surrounding it also have a posible Egyptian design which was of course very influential in Art Deco designs

Renee Lalique was a French designer very influenced by Art Deco with his Glass ornament designs and another designer Raymond loewy the Father of industrial design incorporated a lot of this in his work.He was very influenced by the Pharaohs designs.

He designed the Shell ,BP and Coca Cola designs as well as his train designs,Car designs,Cigarette packet design amongst other designs.

Buildings such as the Chrysler building in New York which has an Art Deco influenced design.

A lot of the Bauhaus designers emigrated to the USA from Germany after Adolf Hitler closed down th Bauhaus School.Their Art Deco influence can be seen in the USA quite prominently in a lot of the Building designs.

Due to World War two from the late 1940's through to the 1960,s design and imagery did not change much and was still influenced by Art Deco to a certain degree. Furniture, such as Chairs, Lights, lamp shades, Televisions and a whole range of things had the Art Deco style influence, and indeed some of todays designs can be seen to still be influenced by the Art Deco era in reproduction furnishings amongst other things.

American Super Heroes such as the First Super Hero, Superman ,through to the late 1930's Batman and Robin,Captain America and Dare devil etc,were very Art Deco orientated. The super hero Marvel comics for example all had the Streamline fast space age Art Deco influence running through the images and overall design of the magazines and Posters.Some Toys from the 1930s through to the 1960's and onwards can also be seen to have an Art Deco influence.The 1980s Comic book heroes were reinvented in the UK.The 1930's Posters had limited Colour Palettes giving them their unique style.This could be described as iconic abstract form in an almost Picasso style possibly.

The Airship used for Trans Atlantic crossings were certainly designed in an Art deco style. The Lz 129 Hindenburg airship disaster which occured on Thursday May 6th 1937 caught fire on attemting to dock which was also captured on one of the very first news reels of the time signalled the end of this type of transportation, and the commercial flights that we know today were born out of that.
Airship travel would probably still be used today but for the Hindenburg Disaster.
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The Empire state Building was a building where Art Deco was also a big influence.The King Kong film based around the building being representative in it's imagery, and message, good vs evil and power, being examples of the Art Deco style.
The Empire state building was actually used for Airships to Dock on top of it. There is now an Aerial mast replacing where the docking station part of the building used to be.

Up Film Poster 2009

The Art Deco style can be seen in some of todays film Poster designs such as the recently made film up Up.See the Picture Poster on the left.The Air Ballon a pointing reference to the Air Ships which had the Art Deco influenced design.The poster is also very minimal but eye catching.Graphic Design by Craig Foster.

Further examples of Art Deco influenced posters The 1927 Film Metropolis Poster design and an image of King Kong and The Empire State Building poster design. Also an Image of the very futuristic Art Deco style Hindenburg Airship disaster which changed the way Air travel was used in the future. The Empire State Building on the Left.Also the Chrysler Building below are very Art Deco in their design. Raymond loewy Car design can also be seen below the page.

Also below the page a 1938 Superman comic which typifies the Art Deco image. Fast , Powerful, Strong,Striking, and Futuristic.At the bottom of the page ,the 2012 pre release poster of the latest Batman Movie. Batman having featured in USA DC Comics back in 1939 and most certainly influenced by the Art Deco movement.Also featured the old Batman logo used in older posters ,which shows that the updated poster is still carrying the 1930s influence design into 2012.

Empire State Building.

A very innovative Art Deco style Building reaching the heady heights of the New York Skyline, with the Chrysler Building in the background.

Metropolis original 1927 theatrical Poster from the German Fritz Lang film Very futuristic for its time and the Art Deco design is very prominent in this excellent Poster

Above left : The 2010 French Poster of the Restored Film Version of Metropolis minus the Maschinenenmensch which featured on the previous posters. Above Right: A 2002 Metropolis Poster to advertise the restored version of the film, featuring the Maschinenmensch.The concept of the 2002 version inkeeping with the original 1927 Poster.

Left :Original King Kong Film Poster 1933.